Muslim Britain : A Travel Guide to Sites of Islamic Heritage & Culture

It guides readers and travellers to places and spaces that tell the story of Islam in the region—from the 8th century, when Anglo-Saxon King Offa minted an Islamic coin, through to the building of the Cambridge Central Mosque, Europe's most environmentally friendly Islamic place of worship. Region-by-region coverage introduces readers to points of interest typically overlooked by traditional travel guides, explaining their significance to the story of the British Isles and articulating the impact of the region's second-largest religious group on its language, food, art, culture and architecture. Under-appreciated personalities and narratives are celebrated throughout—from the Ottomans defying Queen Victoria to feed the starving Irish during the Great Famine, to Celtic's bare-footed football star, to the British-Indian lawyer Khwaja Kamal ud-Din who made Woking a 'Mecca of Europe' in the early 20th century. The cultural richness is complemented by practical travel advice, including guidance on how 'visible' Muslims can travel safely and mosque etiquette for non-Muslims. Inspired by Muslim Britain and Ireland, you can pray in northwest Europe's oldest purpose-built mosque (Woking's Shah Jahan), decipher the mystery of an 8th-century Islamic gold coin (held in the British Museum), admire Europe's finest collection of ancient Qur'ans (at Dublin's Chester Beatty Library), hike through the Scottish Highlands in search of Britain's first female Hajji, visit the Glasgow birthplace of chicken tikka masala, imagine British Islam's future beneath Cambridge's iconic eco-mosque, or silently remember Britain's Muslim fallen at Woking's Peace Gardens. This is a guidebook that will take you to unexpected places and make you look differently at a region you thought you knew well.